Safe vehicle body



P. GRAHAM Dec. 5, 1967 SAFE VEHICLE BODY 3 Sheets-Sheet l original Filedsept. 27, 1962 AW' www LA FIG. 6

INVNTOR. Ph //fp Gfa /va m TTORNEY SAFE VEHICLE BODY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Original Filed Sept. 27 1962 25h xNvENToR.

Phi/ll? Gra/1am Dec.5, 1967 P. GRAHAM 3,356,175

SAFE VEHICLE BODY Original Filed Sept. 27, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lFIG.I6

2S FIG. la 4;" f 33 5 FIG. l5

1.1. 'all INVENTOR. Il? ,rb/fg P/N//lp Graam A TTORNEY United StatesPatent Oilce 3,356,175 SAFE VEHlCLE BODY Phillip Graham, 2825 GlennloreAve., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15216 Original application Sept. 27, 1962, Ser.No. 226,623, now Patent No. 3,219,384, dated Nov. 23, 1965. Divided andthis application May 21, 1965, Ser. No. 457,627

11 Claims. (Cl. 180-93) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLSURE The invention relatesto the incorporation, in a roadway vehicle having at least one end witha single Wheel, a bowed forked bumper-like mean-s that straddles thewheel. The forked bumper includes means to absorb a collision impactfrom another vehicle by flattening and striking the roadway, wherebyimpact force can be absorbed by: the bumpers resistance to flattening,by the bumper striking the roadway, by the bumper causing lifting actionof both vehicles, by rupture of the bumper, and by the bumper grippingthe roadway causing force to be absorbed by friction between the bumperand the roadway.

This invention is a division of application Ser. No. 226,623, tiledSept. 27, 1962, entitled, Safe Vehicle Body, now Patent No. 3,219,384,which in turn is a continuationin-part of my copending applications Ser.No. 857,187, filed Dec. 3, 1959, entitled, Safe Vehicle Body, now PatentNo. 3,056,627, and Ser. No. 721,150, led Mar. 13, 1958, entitled, CurvedVehicle Bumper, now Patent No. 3,056,- 462. Applicant notes that thereis common subject matter tha-t is described in the present application,which was also described in his application Ser. No. 557,938, tiled Jan.9, 1956, entitled, Safe Conveyance Body, now Patent No. 2,916,324, andapplication Ser. No. 449,695, filed Aug. 13, 1954, entitled, CurvedBarrier, now Patent No. 2,826,- 7 88. The copending applications Ser.No. 857,187 and Ser. No. 721,150 were continuation-impart applicationsof application Ser. No. 557,938. The copending application Ser. No.721,150 was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 449,695,until the continuation-in-part claim was deleted in 1962 when thespecification of application was largely deleted to restrict it tobumpers. While this type of salte vehicle body would be most useful forvehicles, such as automobiles, it may also be used for bicycles,scooters, trucks, buses, trailers, planes, small boats, and othervehicles. The term automobile, as used in the speciication and claims,does not exclude :automobiles and scooters having three wheels.

This invention relates to a safe vehicle body, such as a cushionable`automobile body and the like, that has a yieldable shell or bumperpor-tion, also yieldable cover portions including the roof, hood .andtrunk lid that can yield to cushion impacts caused by the cover portionsstriking a roadway during roll-over accidents. The body, Iaccording tothe present invention, will yield and rebound without permanentdeformation from the impacts `of most minor collisions, which impactswould severely damage conventional automobile bodies. Under more violentcolliding forces, the body will be permanently deformed -to a limitedextent while gradually yielding in absorbing and diverting the violentcollision forces. The yielding is controlled to an extent so as toprevent severe deformation of the occupants compartment. Thus the safebody would be expendable 4to protectively cushion the occupant of theconveyance.

Common automobile bodies that are involved in violent collisions failwithout adequately cushioning the severe collision forces. Mostconventional automobile bumpers do not materially cushion impacts. Suchbumpers act as battering rams against objects they strike, or they actas armor plate against vehicles that strike them. After suchconventional bumpers fail from a diagonal collision thrust, theremainder of the body portions adjacent to the bumper deforms to a greatextent without providing much resistance to the thrust. The collisionforces are absorbed by the action of crumpling and tearing of the steelmembers of the automobile, which causes excessive deformation towardsthe occupants positions and creates inadequate cushioning action. Theautomobile body, including the bumpers, fails locally and almostinstantly at the point of impact since the body does not have the meansto spread the initial impact force into a much larger portion of thebody. Generally, the occupants of common automobile bodies are killed orinjured when the automobile body fails to an extent that the occupantscompartment is penetrated by failing members, including the motor andthe lower portion of the steering column. The common automobile Ibodyhas very little resistance against violent collision forces that strikeit broadside.

An automobile body embodying Ithe principles of the present inventionolfers a great degree of protection against the violent forces ofcollisions in which it is involved, since it will yield and cushion ordivert the violent impacts. The vehicle body will rebound from mostminor collision impacts. The body has means to yieldingly resist moreviolent collision forces by progressively yielding while resisting, andthen collapsing in steps to absorb and cushion the force, also means todivert some of the force downwardly into the roadway which absorbs itwhen a portion of the body flattens and strikes the roadway. The bumperportion of the body has spike means to engage the roadway duringflattening to absorb force by friction or gouging of the roadway. Thespikes also restrain the vehicle from moving laterally, particularlybouncing into adjoining tratlic lanes. Furthermore, there is means todivert some of the collision force upwardly, which diversion absorbssome of the force by lifting the adjacent portion of the automobile,which lifting tends to hurl the portion upwardly. Grappling hooks on thebumper portion would engage an opposing vehicle during a collision, andtend to raise the adjacent portion of the opposing vehicle, to expendforce by the lifting or quick jacking action, rather than to allow theforce to be expended in deforming the safe vehicle body. The grapplinghooks have spikes to snag to and remain engaged to guard rails, guardcable fences, guard walls 4and curbs, to restrain the vehicle frombouncing or rising above such guards. The vehicle portion adjacent thepoint of impact against a guard cable it engageswould tend to rise to anextent and stretch the cable.

The safe vehicle body can bounce away from objects it sideswipes, so itis safe to use on narrow tratiic lanes.

The safe vehicle body has means to cause collision forces to be greatlyexpended in `deformin-g outer portions of the body to a great degree toprevent the occupants compartment from being deformed to a dangerousdegree.

The safe vehicle body embodying the principles of the present inventionacts as a unit in resisting and yielding to cushion and protect theoccupants, because there is continuity in the arrangement of the bodymembers so the collision force can be spread widely through thestructure to bring much of the body into play. The vehicle body,exclusive of the chassis portion of the body, can eifectively transmitconsiderable thrusts longitudinally of the vehicle, thus reducing thetendency of collision forces to deform the chassis.

The safe vehicle body can provide considerable protection from acollision thrust at any angle, whereas most conventional bumpers oiferlittle protection from a collision at an angle. Automobiles are usuallyveered just Patented Dec. 5, 19:67v

before a collision when the operator tries to avoid a collision', thus'the safe vehicle body provides the needed protection.

The safe vehicle body provides means to effectively resist and cushioncollision thrusts that occur higher than common bumpers, thus providingneeded protection than other types of automobile bodies lack. Suchprotection is needed against possible collisions with large trucks, andparticularly against rear end collisions against trailer trucks. Commonautomobile bodies offer no protection when they collide withY the rearAof a' trailer, because the automobile roof is sheared on by its contactYwith the lower overhanging portion of the trailer and the trailer axleis too high for conventional bumpers to contact. The high front' portionof the safe vehicle body can contact and cushion against the axle, Whilethe strong top of the body can` contact and cushion against theoverhanding portion of the trailer body. n

The safe vehicle body described in the present application provides moreprotection than can be provided with the bumper-like curved barrierdescribed Vin my copendin'g` application Ser. ANo. 721,150, led Mar. 13,1958, entitled Curved Vehicle Bumper. Unlike the safe body, the curvedbumper doesI not have spikes to snag into the roadway to expend' forceby gouging and friction action against the roadway. Furthermore', thebumper does not have to have hooked portions ongrappling hooks to engageand hold the body to guard rails and the like.

The safe vehicle body described inthe present application is animprovement over the safe vehicle body denscribed in my copending'application Ser. No. 857,187. The improved body has spikes to engage andgouge the roadway, also improved grappling hooks to hold the vehicle toguard rail cables and the' like to prevent the vehicle from bouncing.

The safe vehicle body described in the present applica tion hasV highlycushionable cover portions, which include the roof, hood, and trunk lid,that would provide more security than the curved barrier roof meansdescribed in my PatentvNo. 2,826,788, which was application Ser. No;449,695. The improved body has cover portions whose side edge portionsinclude means 4to allo-w the edges to yield toa great extent towards themajor portion of a vehicle to cushion impacts against the side edgesduring a r'olllover accident.

The safe vehicle body of the present invention provides a means to makea relatively small automobile much safer so that it can furnish ahigherdegree of protection for the occupants during a collision. Smallautomobiles are considered to be hazardous since they can be crushed incolli'sions with larger vehicles that roll over them. The safe bodymeans would be particularly useful for a small automobile and smalltrucks that have their occupants compartinent very close to the front ofthe vehicles. The safe body means causes the collision impact force todeform the body to a lesser degree towards the occupants, thus tendingto prevent deformation of the occupants compartinent on a smallautomobile. The lifting action of a collision impact tends to raise asmall vehicle enough so an opposing larger vehicle pushes it aside orbackwards rather than to roll over it. There is great need for means tomake small automobiles safe, since such vehicles would be more practicalfor much of the transportation needs that exist today, particularlysince they are lower in cost to build and operate and they require lessspace for parking. n

The short depth of allowable deformation of the safe vehicle bodyadjacentl the collision impact point causes a high degree ofdeceleration of the vehicle and the occupants. A vehicle with a safebody may have vehicle occupant safety barriers mounted in it to providea much higher degree of protection than can be had by mounting commonseat belts in the safe body. Such barriers are described in my copendingapplication Ser. No. 97,658, filed Mar. 22, 1961, now Patent` No.3,129,017, and my 4 Patents No. 2,977,135; No. 2,827,305; and No.2,826,788. The barriers restrain the occupants `from being hurled bymomentum against the rigid portions of the vehicle confronting them.

An object of my invention is to provide a vehicle body having abumper-like portion that will cushion, absorb, or divert violentcollision forces and' restrain the body from bouncing or leaping oversafety guard rails and the like, thus preventing injury to the occupantsof the vehicle body as well asA to prevent or reduce the damage to thevehicle andthe element with which it collidcs. The body being expendableto safeguard the occupants from violent collision forces, causesportions of the vehicle body to collapse after they have cushioned andabsorbed much of the forces.

Another object of my invention is to provide a safe top cover portionfor a vehicle body that will cushion and absorb violent accident impactforces against it including those caused by the vehicle body strikingthe roadway when the vehicle rolls over, the cushioning protecting theoccupants of the vehicle and tending to prevent excessive damage to thevehicle.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a safe hood and/ ortrunk lid for a vehicle body that will cushion and absorb violentaccident impact forces against it, including those from a roll-overa-ccident.

Other objects of my invention will become more apparent from thefollowing description taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary plan View of an automobile;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view taken along line 2*-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary elevational view taken along line 3-'3 ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, sectional, elevational view taken alongy line4-4 of FIGUREl 2;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, sectional, plan view taken along line 5 5 ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6- is a fragmentary, sectional View taken along line 6-6 ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 7-'-'7 ofrFIGURE 2;

FIGURE- 8 is an' enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken along line8 8 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary, sectional View taken along line 9-9 of FIGURE8;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 10-10' ofFIGURE 8;

FIGURE 1 1 is a fragmentary, sectional view similar to FIGURE 8, butshowing a portion of the automobile body flattened by' a collision withan object;

FIGURE 12 is en enlarged, fragmentary, elevational view taken from theexterior or convex side of the body shell;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged,fragmentary, elevational view taken from theconcave side of the ribs and body shell;

FIGURE 14 is -a fragmentary, sectional view taken alongline V14'-14 ofFIGURE 12;

FIGURE 15 is anenlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken along line15e-15 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 16 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional View taken along line16-'16 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 17 is al fragmentary, sectional, plan view taken through a bumperpad;

FIGURE 18 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view similar to thelower portion of FIGURE 8, showing the arrangement at the base of adoor;

FIGURE 19 is a fragmentary, sectional view similar to FIGURE 14, showinga modification with a skin on the plastic shell;

FIGURE 20 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional View similar to the topportion of FIGURE 8, showing a modification which does not have an outershell;

FIGURE 2l is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view similar to thebottom portion of FIGURE 8, showing a modification which does not havean outer shell;

FIGURE 22 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional View similar to FIGURE14, showing a modification which has `a corrugated sheet metal outershell;

FIGURE 23 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 23-23 ofFIGURE 22;

FIGURE 24 is an elevational view showing a safe body for a motorscooter.

The automobile illustrated in the drawings has a yieldable slightlyresilient body. Broadly stated, the automobile body in accordance withthe present invention consists of bowed plastic shell portions withyieldable ties across the chords of the bows. Collision impacts causethe bowed shells to yield by flattening partially, and the yieldableties to yield by stretching until the forces are absorbed, or diverted.Yieldable ties and the like that yield to absorb forces of the impactsare yieldable force absorbing means which include highly resilientsprings that tend to rebound and less resilient members that yield to alarge degree but permanently deform when highly stressed by impactforces. The automobile body shell of slightly resilient plastic isshaped and positioned to obtain optimum cushioning effect and strengthwhen used with a small amount of metal. The plastic shell may have fiberglass strands impregnated in it to strengthen it.

The shell of the body is confined to maintain highly efficient arched orbowed shapes. The bowed shapes act as arched compression members sincethey yield and flatten partially in cushioning collision impacts. Whilethe shell is flattening partially, the collision impact force isdiverted and spread over a greater portion of the body so the force canbe resisted by the large portion of the body that is brought into play,to thus slow down the momentum gradually by absorbing the forcesgradually. There are yieldable spring ties across the chords of thebowed shell sections that yield to an extent and absorb much of theviolent force. There are ribs that can yieldably flatten as they help tomaintain arched shapes of the shell portions as they partially flatten.The confined arched shapes are used to obtain optimum load carryingeiiiciency of the material used.

The automobile body that is illustrated is substantially symmetricalabout its longitudinal axis and its transverse axis, except that thedoors are off-center and other minor differences that Vare obvious. Theyautomobile body is shaped to provide an efficient functional structure.The body members are shaped and combined so as to provide continuity tothe automobile body -so the body as a unit can act to cushion and resistcollision impacts. The ends and the sides of the automobile body havethe highly yieldable and resilient features to cause cushioning actionsfrom collision impacts, -also to a more limited degree, these featuresare incorporated into horizontal cover portions, which may be the top,the hood, and the trunk lid. The arched shape of the front and rear ofthe automobile body is shown as being of substantially identicalstructural features since head-on collisions and rear-end collisions ofintense magnitude are frequent occurrences. The yieldable roof, hood,and trunk lid are useful safeguards when an automobile rolls over. `Theoverhanging edge of .the roof is resilient which allows it to cushion athrust against it. The hood and the trunk lid are sloped downwardly andoutwardly to allow the driver more visibility of the roadway, Ialso toform a stronger shaped automobile body.

As shown in FIG. 8, the bow of the shell or skin 1 and the like have alarge width bow or middle ordinate which provides a considerabledistance in which the shell can flatten to yield and cushion the impactforce. Although this width of the bow is greater than the widths of bowson common sheet metal automobile bodies, the wide bowed shell can beused in the sides of automobiles without increasing the witdh of thevehicle or without sacrificing functional features. Most of the commonautomobiles made today have body widths that are wider than they need tobe. Such Wide bodies allow excess seat space into which the occupantscan slide or be thrown when the vehicle veers. Occupants must berestrained with safety belts or cnshionable safety barriers to preventthe momentum from hurling them towards the cornpartment walls during acollision, so the excess seat space is a hazard, particularly so when itis estimated that over fty percent of the injuries sustained in vehiclecollisions could be eliminated by restraining the occupants with beltsand/or cnshionable safety barriers.

The forward plastic shell section 1 and the rear shell section 2 aresubstantially identical. The bumper pads 3 may be fastened to the shell1 to engage common bumpers of other automobiles and the like duringcollisions to act as a buffer, and as a means to spread the impact overa greater area of the shell. Thus the pads 3 tend to prevent thepuncturing of the shell 1.

The door 4 coacts with the adjacent body members to maintain continuityof stress carrying features to distribute the collision forces to agreater section of the body. The roof shell 5 is yieldable to cushionimpacts on it when the automobile rolls over, or when edge of the roofis struck during a collision. The hood shell 6 and the trunk lid shell 7are slightly yieldable to allow them to yield under impacts on theirconvex surfaces, such as during loll-overs. The hood 6 and the lid '7securely engage adjoining body members to brace and tie the bodytogether, so that collision thrusts can be spread widely into the bodystructure until enough structure is brought into play to absorb thethrusts. The trunk lid 7 acts during a collision against the rear of thevehicle like the hood 6 acts during a collision against the front of thevehicle. The hood 6 and the trunk lid 7 in combination with adjacentside portions of the body can transmit great momentum forcelongitudinally during a crash so the chassis is not subjected to thewhole momentum force, since the whole momentum force would tend tobuckle the chassis.

Channel members 8a and I3b are curved in length to a horseshoe-likeshape. They are members that take impact thrusts from the upper portionof the vertical bowed shell sections. Channels 9 are periphery chassismembers, which support the lower portion of the vertical bowed shellsections. The channels 9 may have brackets 9a welded to them to providemeans to mount pivotal links or braces 9b. The braces 9b restrain theshell 1 from buckling when it is flattened to an extent under acollision impact as shown in FIG. ll. The rigid roof framing members10a, ltb, and 10c are rigidly supported by the posts 11a and 11b. Thecenter rib-like posts 12a and 12b may be portions of a yieldable archedrib that is incorporated into the roof structure. The yieldable archedrib yields with the roof shell during roll-overs, to act as a cushion.The cross members 13a and 13b may support the ends of the posts 12a and12b. The members 13a and 13b are supported by the channels 8a and 8b.

The center rib-like posts 12a and 12b are not highly objectionable as totheir blocking vision since the center window areas are often obscured,preventing viewing through them during the worst driving conditions,such as during rain, and snow storms, as the windshield wipers do notclean these areas.

The door latches 14 may be made similar to those used on reproof vaultdoors. The latches 14 are supported by framing on the interior sides ofthe doors 4. Mud guards 15 may be made of highly elastic plastic orrubber, which do not restrain the body from being depressed inwardlyunder impacts. Snow, ice, and mud tend to break loose from the elasticguards 15 since the guards flex from vibration and jolts of theautomobile on roadways. The mud guards 15 flex to cushion the forces ofcrushed stones, cinders, and the like that are thrown against them bythe wheels. Also, the plastic eliminates the noise of such matterstriking the guards. Furthermore, the guards yield and cushion theforces from broken tire chains and eliminate noise from the pounding ofsuch broken chains. The guards 1:5 l would not deteriorate rapidly fromchemical action of cinders, salt, and soil.

The ceiling of the vehicle body may have a curved Ceiling panel 16` thatcan flatten to yield an cushion an occupant' who is thrown against itduring aroll-over accident and the like. rIhe panel 16 may be omittedwhen the occupants are restrained with seat belts and/or safetybarriers. The motor 17 and other members in the lower portion of theautomobile are shown by the dot-dash outline in FIGURE 5. n v

A modified automobile having a safe body that would have' its motor inthe re'ar portion and the trunk in the front portion of the' vehiclewould be stronger to provide more protection against a head-oncollision, as the channel 9 would be braced -by the trunk bottom.

As shown in FIGURE 8, the wire spring tie 18 forms a resilient tieacross the chord line of the shell 1. Wire fasteners 19 fasten' the topand bottom edges of the shell 1 to the retainers. The tie 18 is fastenedto the reinforcing wire 20c and 20d in the bulb-like edgings of theshell 1. The wire 20d is spirally coiled to allow it to yield locally.As shown in FIGURES 8, 12, 13, and 14, the shell 1 has a wire grid 20encasedA in it with the wires positioned horizontally and vertically atright angles to each other. A second similar grid 20a may besuperimposed on the grid 20 and may be fastened to it` where the gridscontact each other. The grid wires may be fused together in welding solthe joint of intersecting wires is flattened to one thickness. The wiresin the grid 20a are positioned forty-five degrees from those in the grid20. The plastic of the shell may have fiber glass reinforcing, inaddition to the grid wires. The wire grids effectively restrain theshell 1 from shearing, tearing and cracking from minor forces, thus alarge portion of the shell is made to act as a unit to absorb and resistcollision forces. The wire grids are members that resist tension andshear. The wire in the grids may be flat' to allow them to bend morereadily when subjected to compressive forces.

As shown in FIGURE 8, a retainer bar 21a is welded to the channel 8a.The retainer bar 2lb is riveted to the channel 8a. The retainer barsform a socket-like recess to engage and securely hold the bulb-like topedging of the shell 1. The bar 2lb is also a bearing bar for the upperend of the top yieldable shaft or rib 27b. The tie-post 22 is attachedat its bottom to the channel 9 and its top is attached to the resilientsteel bar 23 and the limit bolt 24. This ype of tie and support allowsthe hood 6 and the trunk lid 7 to yield and cushion the shock of animpact on their top surface during roll-overs. The bar 23 and the -bolt24 prevent the channel 8a and adjoining parts from rising when an impacton the side of the shell 1 tends to raise the upper portion of theautomobile body. The bar 23 is yieldable downwardly but not upwardly. Asshown in FIGURES 8, l0 and ll, the sliding retainer 25 takes the thrustfrom the lower edge of the shell 1. The retainer 25 can slide down thetie-post 22 as the shell 1 is spread in flattening under an impact.

The contact surfaces of the retainer 25 may be thinly coated withresilient plastic to eliminate chattering noise from vibration and roadshocks. The retainer 25 may be tack welded lightly to channel 9` torestrain the shell and ties from flexing slightly from vibration androad shocks. This would eliminate squeeks and chattering noises. Suchlight tack welds would break readily when collision forces acted on theshell. Retainer bars 25a are short members that are fastened to theretainers 25. The l bar 25a grips the lower bulb-like edging of theshell 1 and acts as a bearing bar for the end of the lower rib 27a. Theretainer shoesZ'Sb may be fastened to retainers 25 to provide a slightlyyieldable surface which evenly strikes and grips the roadway 38.

The spoke-like radial ties 26 may be used to restrain the shell 1 frombulging outwardly when the shell is struck during a collision. The ties26 are fastened lto the grid wires o u in the shell 1 and to the tiepost 22. The ties 26 do not materially prevent the shell 1 fromexcessively bulgingv inwardly under a localized impact that tends todestroy the arched shape of the shell 1.

Yieldable shafts or ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 28b may be used to maintainan arched shape to the shell 1 during a collision until the archedbowedv shape is flattened just short of the state of collapsing. Thewires 26 may be used with the ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 28b, or either theribs or the tie wires may be used solely to restrain or confine theshell 1 to maintain a substantially bowed shape. The lightweight wires26 take a direct pull from the shell, thus they are efficiently used.The ribs 27 and 28 may yield under an impact, while maintaining pressureon the shell 1 to maintain an arched shape to the flattening shell. Theadjoining rib tips 31h on ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 28b are shaped tolimit the attening and the bowing of the rib assembly.

The shell 1 may have rib-like portions 1a and 1b to stiften the shelland to provide more thickness around the wires of the grids 20 and 20a,to thus increase the shells resistance against the tendency of the gridwires to rip out of the shell during an impact. There is a wire gridsystem 29 that links the ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 28b together.

` The ribs pivot with these grid wires acting as hinges when the shellarea bearing against them flattens during a collision. There is a holeat the intersection of the wires in the grid 29 to allow the wire 26 toproject through it. The wires of the grid 29 may be fused together andbe flattened and pierced while hot to form this type of intersection.The hole in the grid has a loose fit with the wire 26 to allow the wireto slide slightly when the body attens and a portion of the shell 1spreads to the extent that the wire 26 is bent at the shell.

The offsets 30 on the wires 26 tend to hold the ribs 27a, 27 b, 28a, and28b close to the shell 1. Since the length of the arc of the shell 1tends to become equal to that of the rib assembly as the members spreadand flatten, there is compensating means to allow this fluctuation. Theshell 1 shortens to an extent when it is compressed by an impact. Theribs 27a and 27b may have rib tips 31a attached to engage the retainerbars 2lb and 25a. The rib tips 31a may have spring portions to allow therib system to gradually lengthen to compensate for the fluctuation. Therib tips 31a and 3'1b may be made of metal to allow their small bearingareas to withstand the pressures. The ribs 27a, 27 b, 28a, and 28b mayhave limit eyes similar to those shown for the horizontal rib sections32. The horizontal rib sections 32 at the front and rear of theautomobile may have limit eyes 32a to allow limited yielding when thearched length of the shell 1 attens partially. The intermediate portionof the width of the shell 1 in the horizontal arcs of the front and rearof the body are highly compressed by front or rear collision impacts.The resilient plastic shell is compressible to a small degree. Thehorizontal ribs 32 have this limit means to allow the ribs to yield to alimit that maintains an arched shape that can resist forces furtherwithout materially yielding, unless very viole-nt forces are notabsorbed wholly and such forces cause the shell to rupture and collapse.

The spring tie sheets 33 may be made of high carbon steel to act assprings in the tie system to absorb thrusts that were diverted from thecollision impact area into the arch. The sheets 33 have corrugations toallow them to flex. The spring 33 straightens under severe collisionirnpacts and then rebounds to its original shape after the force isreleased. Sheets 33 may be pulled apart to absorb force after they havereached their limit of deection. New sheets 33 could be readily attachedto replace the sheets that are pulled apart. Sheets 33 are shown asshort members lspanning between retainers 25. The sheets 33 are short sothe shell 1 can deflect locally. Sheets 33 may be made of less resilientsteel that permanently deforms when stretched, which sheets absorbcollision forces in stretching and possibly breaking. The tie sheet 34is fastened to the channel 8a, the tie post 22, and the sheets 33. Italso securely engages the upper edging of the shell 1. The bottom of thespring 33 securely engages the lower edging of the shell 1. At the upperportion of sheet 34 are two corrugations that may yield during aroll-over since the tie system can yield downwardly from impacts above.The sheet 34 may be highly resilient to allow a rebounding action.Sheets 33 and 34 act as an inner shell. Sheet 35 is a corrugatedstiilener that may be used, particularly around the front and around therear of the automobile body, where its arched shape resists a greatcompressive force to absorb much of a collision force before the archcollapses. Sheets 35 are fastened, such as by welding, to tie sheet 34to prevent it from llattening or spreading in width. A seal 36 at thehood 6 bears against the shell 1. AHighly compressible insulation 39,such as foam plastic or liber glass, may be placed in the segmentalspace between the shell 1 and its chord line. It would act as acushioning means and as an insulation. The front of the automobile bodyshell has perforations to allow air to pass through to reach and coolthe motor. Resilient tubes 40 attached to these openings pass throughthe steel tie sheet 34.

The bowed shell 1 is shown tilted. This tilting of the bow allows a lowimpact against bumpers on another vehicle or against a guard rail tocause thet shell 1 to deflect with a flattening action. If the bow ofthe shell were not tilted, an impact close to the bottom of shell 1,such as that from object 37, would cause breakage of the shell ratherthan the partial flattening and cushioning action. Since the center ofgravity of a loaded common automobile is above the axles during a veryviolent head-on crash, a common automobile tends to nose down. The frontof the safe automobile body tends to rise when it strikes low against acolliding object, such as object 37 shown in FIGURE 8. The impact forceis diverted into the arch of the shell 1, which spreads the chord of theshell a-s it flattens partially under the thrust. The impact force isdiverted downwardly towards the roadway and upwardly, which tends tolift the adjacent portion of the automobile body. The lifting action canabsorb a great amount of force in lifting a portion of the automobilewith its occupants. Thus, force is expended in the lifting action,rather than allowing it to deform and break automobile body members. lfthe impact force lifts an end of the automobile ofI the roadway, theautomobile tires will cushion the fall after the force has been expendedin the lifting action. When the automobile noses up, the occupants areforced down in their seats to an extent if they are held to their seatswith the barrier B or common safety belts. When the shell 1 is struckhigh aboveI its center by object 37a, there is less force absorbed inthe lifting action than from the force of an object 37.

When automobiles traveling at high velocities collide, their momenturnscreate collision forces of great magnitude. To safeguard the automobileoccupants as much as possible, additional safety means can be used tosafely cushion, divert, and absorb these violent forces. The safetybarriers, such as those described in my Patents No. 2,977,135, No.2,826,788, and No. 2,827,305, may be used in the interiors ofautomobiles to cushion the occupants of automobiles during collisions. Asafety barrier B is shown in the forward portion of the interior of theautomobile. The interiors of automobiles may also be padded where thebarriers do not furnish cushioning means.

During very violent collisions, the automobile body must yield graduallyto adequately cushion collisionimpacts to protect occupants. Theyielding must be limited so the occupants compartment remains intact andit is not penetrated by failing portions of the automobile. The moreviolent collision impacts against the automobile body will tear, buckle,and crush portions of the body. The resistance to the impact and thegradual yielding of the front of the automobile body is as follows. Theresilient shell, ribs, and ties yield while the shell maintains a bowedshape that causes the shell to act in compression. Force is absorbed tostretch the spring ties, bend the resilient plastic and compress thefibers of the shell with the compressive arched force. After the limitof yielding of the spring ties is reached, further force can be obsorbedby the pull on the ties until they break, if the ties are soproportioned that they reach their limit of deflection before the shellstrikes the roadway 38. The limit of the partial flattening of theshell, while maintaining an arched shape caused by either its contact tothe roadway 38 or by the spring ties holding after yielding, causes theshell 1 to resist as an arch without yielding materially, unless theforce is so great as to cause further yielding until the ribs bearagainst the arched sheet 34. The arched sheet 34 is conned andstrengthened by its relationship with the por tions of the front of theautomobile body consisting of the channel 9, the channel 8a, the tie-post 22 with its connectors, and sheet 35. This portion of the bodyforms a lateral arched structure that is tied and stilfened by the hood6 and the motor 1'7.

The hood 6 is kept securely latched in position. The hood edging iskeyed to the top of channel 8a so that it ties the front of the bodytogether and can effectively transmit stresses. As shown in FIG. 8 andll, the yieldable tie means 18C may be used to tie across the bow of thehood 6 to yieldably restrain the hood from llattening excessively whenimpacted during a roll-over accident, particularly in a modifiedconvertible automobile that does not have a strong roof portion. When acollision force almost llattens a portion of the shell 1 to the shapeshown in FIGURE ll, the ribs 27a, 2'7b, 28a, and 23]) bear against thearched sheet 34.. The tie post 22 behind the sheet 34 prevents the sheet34 from readily buckling. The corrugations in the sheet 34 and thecorrugated sheet 35 also restrains the sheet 34 from buckling. Pin 25etransmits force from retainer 25 to brace 9b.

The brace 9b restrains the shell 1 from buckling and restrains thechannel 9 from twisting `from the pressure against the convex surface ofshell 1 when the shell is flattened as shown in FIGURE l1. When theshell 1 llattens to the limit, the impact force is transmittedhorizontally through the intermediate portion of the shell 1 into theribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 2gb, then into the tiepost 22 and from thereinto the channels 8a and 9. The brace restrains the tie-post 22 frombending.

The auto body members may be proportioned so the lower edge of the shell1 will spread down in flattening under a violent collision impact untilthe retainer shoe 25h strikes the roadway 38. Each retainer shoe 25h mayhave a spike or offset 25]. A spike 25f would tend to be driven into theroadway 38 when the adjacent portion of the shell 1 is flattened. Thelower edge portions of the shell 1 that are adjacent to the collisionimpact point will tend to yield and strike the roadway 38. The strikingforce of the retainer shoes 25h, the spikes 251C, and the shell 1against the roadway 3S transmits much of a collision force into theroadway, thus harmlessly diverting and absorbing it. When some retainershoes 25b, spikes 25j, and portions of the shell 1 strike the roadway38, while the collision force is still flattening and spreading the ribsand the shell 1, the spreading laction tends to lift the automobile bodyportion near the point of impact. The spreading action is a toggle-likeaction which can divert a great collision force. The high velocity ofthe collision impact would cause the shoes 25h, the spikes 251, and theshell 1 to intensely strike the roadway 38, which would tend to rapidlypropel or hurl upwardly the portion of the vehicle adjacent to thecollision point. The shell 1 and the grappling hook-like offsets 27d and28d on the ribs would tend to snag onto the bumper and the like ofvehicles it collides with, thus interlocking the two vehicles while themomentum presses them closer together. When the ribs and shell 1 flattenthey tend to li-ft the engaging portions of both vehicles, thus muchcollision force is also absorbed in tending to lift the opposingvehicle. The bracing 9b tends to prevent the ribs and shell 1 fromrupturing while they are highly stressed when raising both vehicles.When the opposing vehicle is so heavy that the lifting action cannotraise it. force is absorbed by friction and rupturing of the engagingportions of the two vehicles. The shell 1 and hooks 27d and 28d wouldtend to fracture by tearing where they are snagged onto the opposingvehicle.

When the impacted portion of a safe vehicle body is raised by the shell1 flattening under a collision impact against a truck and the like, thesafe vehicle is pushed backwards or aside by the heavy truck, thustending to prevent the truck from riding over top of it and crushing it.

When spikes 25f are driven into the roadway 38, they restrain the safevehicle from moving laterally. The spikes 25]t would gouge out theroadway if a great momentum caused the safe vehicle to keep movingduring collision engagement to another vehicle. Such gouging wouldabsorb a considerable amount of collision force. When the spikes 251snag and gouge, they would slow down or stop the safe vehicle; thus theywould prevent the vehicle from bouncing into adjacent traic lanes Wheremoving vehicles could collide with it. The snagged spikes 251 would alsorestrain an opposing vehicle having a greater momentum from pushing thesafe vehicle backwards. Much of the great momentum force from such anopposing vehicle would be diverted through the safe body and the spikes25f into the roadway. The snagging of spikes 251 to an icy road during acollision would greatly reduce the tendency of the vehicles to skid outof control.

The vehicle body members shown in FIGS. 8 and 1l are combined so theyare forced to act to a very high degree of efficiency to divert andabsorb intense impact forces before they are ruptured. During a veryviolent head-on collision, the spreading and lifting effect tends tobend up the whole front of the automobile, including everything from thehood 6 down to the front wheel springs. The collision force deforms thearched members 8a, 9, 34, 3S, and the shell 1, and causes them tocollapse after bending. The hood 6 acts as a tie across the chord of thearch of channel 8a. The motor 17 acts as a tie acrossk the chord of thechannel 9. These tied arches are very strong types of structures,therefore they can resist great collision forces that tend to deformthem. When collision forces are so great that they buckle the tiedarches, much force is spent in deforming these members. The bending andlifting action absorbs considerable force.

The bending tends to deform the laterally arched shape of the front ofthe automobile so the latter portion of the colliding force tends tocrush it. Thus the front of the automobile body could be almostcompletely destroyed to cushion and absorb the violent forces, while theportion of the automobile body housing the occupants remains intact.Since the motor is fastened to the channel 9, whenthe channel 9 bendsup, it tilts the motor 17. Thus the motor 17 will be tilted up on endduring a very violent crash, rather than being pushed directly back intothe occupants compartment. This means to raise the motor is an advantagenot possible with common automobiles. During some violent collisions,the motors of common automobiles are pushed back as far as the rearseats, which causes the killing or maiming of the occupants. Therefore,the collision impact force is, in general, largely diverted downwardlyand upwardly, tending to prevent rupturing of the vehicle body portionthat closely confronts the occupants. When the uplifting action isprogressing, the lateral forces compress the arched front of theautomobile body. When the various strains cause breakage, the frontportion of the body tends to gradually collapse and be crushed if theremainllt) ing force is great enough to cause that action. When theshell spreads downwardly and one or more shoes 25h, its spike means 251,and portions of the shell edging bear or snag into the roadway 38,particularly a black-top type roadway, the bracing 9b and the intensebearing engagement to the roadway tends to prevent the lower adjacentportion of the shell 1 from failing inwardly, thus tending to maintain alateral arched shape to the front of the automobile body.

The automobile body members may be proportioned so the ties 18 and 33will reach their limit of deflection and resist the impact force untilthey are ruptured by being pulled apart just short of the position wherethe lower edge of the shell I contacts the roadway 38. The ties 18 maybe proportioned so they will reach their limit of deection and break,before the ties 33 reach their deflection limit. rIhus, the ties couldbe broken to absorb considerable force and prevent a violent reboundfrom the colliding object 37. When the ties are broken, shoes Zb, spikes25j, and a portion of the lower edge of the body shell structure strikesand bears against the roadway 38.

The automobile body members may be proportioned so the surface of theroadway 33 acts as a limit for the spreading of the shell 1, the springshaving deflection latitude past the roadway limiting means. When thevehicle is heavily loaded, the springs with which the vehicle body ismounted are deflected to a great degree causing the lower portion of theshell 1 and the like to be positioned closer to the roadway 3S. During acollision, the deflected vehicle body causes the shell 1 to flatten lessbefore it strikes the roadway 38, which causes more jacking movement bythe shell flattening action. This additional high velocity jackingmovement would tend to hurl the front portion of the heavy vehicleupwardly before the momentum of the rear portion of the vehicle hascompressed the length of the vehicle body to the extent that themomentum is transmitted to the front porion of the vehicle. Therefore,when the vehicle strikes a wall or the like, the front portion of thevehicle can be forced upwardly, allowing the rear of the vehicle to movetowards the wall. The rear tires and springs would then cushion the rearof the vehicle against the wall. The pointed grappling hooks 27d and 28dwould tend o to gouge the wall and absorb much of the lifting force,

thusA limiting the lifting of the vehicle.

When the safe body strikes a guard rail or barrier 37b, the shell 1would atten and dig into the soft roadway shoulder, thus causing littlelifting action and little tendency of the vehicle to leap over theguard' rail. All the grappling hooks 27d and 28d would act to catch andhold to plate or cable type guard rails. There is also a grap plinghook-like projection 25C on the' retainer 25 that tends to catch a guardrail cable andl the like ifthe shell 1 flattens and the vehicle tends toleap over the guard rail. The upward pressure on the various grapplinghooks would stretch guard rail cables upwardly and absorb some collisionforce, besides restraining the vehicle from lifting. The outer end ofeach grappling hook 25C, 27d, yand 28d has a chisel point which wouldtend to snag plate type guard rails and stone walls that they collidewith. The grappling hooks may have hardened steel tips so they canpierce common plate guard rails and other obstructions, such as utilitypoles, trees, and the like that they would strike during a collision.The grappling hooks are shaped so they would tend to remain snagged toguard rail cables and plates. The snagging would restrain the vehiclefrom `bouncing aside into the paths of other moving vehicles. When thevehicle strikes a guard rail cable or plate at an angle, the grapplinghooks merely hook onto the cable or plate, which allows the vehicle tomove along parallel to the guard, as the hooks prevent the vehicle frombouncing back into traffic lanes.

The automobile body may be designed so the shell l does not spread downas far as the roadway. This type of arrangement would be more limited indiverting and absorbing collision forces. It would be suitable for usein districts that have sand or dirt roads. Such roads could not absorbmuch striking force of the shell 1 or cause much lifting action.

An automobile body of more limited usefulness may be made withoutsprings or ties across the chord of shell 1. The ribs and/or shell 1will spread and divert the forces downwardly to the roadway and upwardlyin lifting actions.

The vehicle body shell may be made very thin so it is suitable to act asa curtain to protect the interior of the vehicle and the occupants fromthe weather, also to streamline the body to reduce air turbulence aroundit. Such a shell 1 may be made with very thin metal or with fiber glasswith a small amount of plastic. The ib'er glass may be in eitherrandom-oriented or fabric form. The ribs 27a, 2711, 28a, and 28h wouldtake the collision impact with the shell 1 yielding without materiallybeing stressed.

A safe vehicle body shell may be of stiff or brittle plastic. Thecollision force would cause the brittle plastic to crack when it isflattening, the reinforcing Aholding the cracked fragments together toan extent. The cracked fragments would act like stones in a stone archto momentarily resist in compression while diverting the `thrust intothe roadway 38 and into the lifting action before the shell collapses.The brittle plastic may be deeply scored on its concave side to cause itto crack where it is scored when it is tiattened to an extent.Considerable force would be absorbed by the cracking and crushing of thebrittle plastic.

A modification of the automobile body shown in FIGS. l, 8, and 1l mayhave an end portion without a shell 1. The sheets 33 and 34 act as theshell portions of the ends of the vehicle body. During a head-oncollision, the vertical rib assembly formed with ribs 27a, 2711, 28a,and 28h would flatten under a collision impact. The shoes 2512 andspikes ZSf would strike the roadway and cause the front of the vehicleto lift, thus absorbing force. The assembled horizontal ribs 32 wouldflatten and thus spread the force into adjacent vertical ribs 27a, 27b,28a, and 28h and into the whole vehicle body, therefore causing thewhole body to coact to resist a localized collision impact force. Such amodification may use the exposed ribs as grillage. Such a grillage wouldbe both useful for safety and ornamental. This grillage would be anirnprovement over common grillage that is purely ornamental, verycostly, and highly vulnerable to damage by collision impact forces.

The vehicle body maybe modified by` omitting the horizontal yribs 32.

FIGURE 15 shows the typical roof and ceiling details, also-the doorheader and the upper portion of the door 4. The periphery of the roofmay have'resilient cushioning means to cushion impacts duringroll-overs. The side edges of the roof canyield and cushion collisionimpacts against them. Strong resilient curved steel bars 41 may beattached to the rigid framing a, 1617, and 10c to form a cushioningmeans. The ends of the bars 41 may be inserted into holes in the framingmembers. The dished roof shell 5 may have an offset 5a to project outpast the rigid framing to engage and cover the rods 41, to act with therods 41 to cushion impacts and to act as a trim. The roof edging willcushionably yield during roll-overs in either direction.

vAs shown in FIGURE 15, the end of the shell 5 is fastened to theresilient crimped steel tie sheet 42. The sheet 42 is attached to theouter face of the member 10c. The end of the offset 5a is fastened tothe sheet 42.

During roll-overs, the shell 5 flattens to an extent when impacted onits intermediate portion. The plastic in the shell 5 compresses to anextent from the impact force. The impact force is diverted into thearched directions of the shell 5. f

The sheet 42 has crimps at right angles to each other, which allow it toyield when the shell 5 iattens. The sheet 42 can slide against the topof member 10c as it stretches. The vertical edging of the sheet 42,being fastened at the bottom, is allowed to bend, or hinge out.

There are lingers punched upwardly from sheet 42 to act as anchors forthe roof shell 5.

The curved plastic ceiling panel 16 is curved in one direction to form asafety barrier, similar to that described in my Patent No. 2,826,788.The sheet 42 acts as the tie for the panel 16 in addition to being a tiefor the shell 5. The panel 16 is fastened to the tie 42 and it may beattached as shown to the ribs in the shell 5. There is a gap between theend of the panel 16 and the member 10c, to allow the panel to fiatten toan extent when an occupant is thrown against it during a roll-overaccident. The shell 5 and the panel -16 may be connected with hangers orties 43.

The door 4 may have a curved safety barrier 44 built into its innerportion. The barrier 44 may be omitted when the occupants are restrainedwith seat belts and/or safety barriers, such as those described in mycopending application Ser. No. 97,658. The barrier 44 may have a catchor snubber to prevent violet rebounding of an occupant who is hurledagainst it during a collision. The barrier 44 has a transparent portionto allow visibility through the window. The bulb-like cushion 45 isattached to the member 10c at the door. The cushion 45 may be made ofplastic that is resilient enough to allow it to deflect without crackingwhen an occupant is thrown against it. It may be an inflated elastictube of rubber and nylon. The top of the barrier 44 will bear againstthe member 10c when the barrier is flattened by the force of anoccupants body that is hurled against it during a collision. The barrier45 spreads downwardly when Hattening. The door 4 has a bowed shell, tiesand tie-posts similar to arrangement shown in FIGURE 8. The door 4 hasan angle iron 46 along its bottom. The tie-posts 47 in the door 4 areattached to the angle 46. The angle 46 bears against the channel 9. Thetops of the tie-posts 47 are rigidly fastened to the horizontal crosspiece 48. The shell and ribs of a door 4 can atten under a collisionimpact and divert force into the roadway 38 and into lifting action,thereby allowing a door 4 to provide considerable protection for thevehicle occupants, particularly for the occupant seated close to thedoor. The lifting action tends to prevent a larger vehicle from crushingand overriding the side of the safe vehicle body.

The shell of the door 4 may be braced to stiffen it when it flattens. Asshown in FIGURE 18, the pivotal links or braces 9c may be used tostiften the lower end of the door ribs and shell when they flatten. Thebraces 9c are mounted on the oor brackets 49a. There is a slot in theend of the brace 9c which engages the pin 25e when the door 4 is closed.A stiff wire tie 9d ties the brace 9c to the channel 9 to prevent thebrace from dropping when the door is opened. The tie 9d would breakreadily when the door flattens under an impact.

The floor 49 of the automobile stiffens the chassis channel 9,restraining the channel 9 from bending from they thrust of an impactagainst the shell of the door 4. The floor 49 may be ribbed to stiftenit. Since collision impacts are diverted and spread to large enoughportions of the automobile body to allow the forces to be absorbed, thedoor 4 has offsets 4a and 4b to engage grooved keywaylike portions ofthe shells land 2, as shown in FIGURE 16. These interlocking parts allowboth tensile stresses and compressive stresses to be transmitted throughthe door structure. The latch 14 tends to hold the door shell inalignment with the shells 1 and 2.

A round padded steel bearing plate 50 may be securely mounted within thewheel to provide a large surface for the occupants body to bear againstduring a collision.

FIGURE 19 shows a fragment of a modified vehicle body shell. A shell orskin 51 is on the convex side of the plastic shell 1. Steel and aluminumare suitable for use as a skin 51. The tie wire 26 may be fastened tothe skin S1. This modification allows the use of the skin 51, with theplastic giving thickness to the shell to restrain it from buckling to anextent. The skin 51 may be made of fiber glass fabric, the fabric beingimpregnated with plastic. The skin 51 may be used as the shell withoutthe plastic 1. Ribs 27a, 2717, 28a, and 28h along with the resilientties may be used effectively to cushion, absorb, and divert thecollision force with such an arrangement. Although these ribs are smallmembers, they are trapped and forced to transmit great collision forces.

FIGURES 20 and 2l show a modification that does not have a shell 1 orspring ties 18. This modification has pin connected ribs 27e and 271that yield and atten to divert a collision impact force. The rib 27e ispin connected to the retainer bar 2lb. The rib 27f is pin connected tothe retainer bar 25h. Ribs may have grappling hook-like recesses, suchas the recess formed by hook 27h in rib 27j. This modification issuitable for the front and rear of a vehicle.

FIGURES 22 and 23 show a fragment of a modified bumper-like portion of avehicle body shell. A corrugated metallic shell or skin 52 is similar toshell 1. The shell 52 would be strong, light in weight, and low in cost.The shell 52 with its horizontal corrugations would spread a collisionimpact force so the safe body could more effectively resist the impact.The modified shell 52 may be welded to a bowed vertical metalliccorrugated or ribbed shell or skin 53. The shells 52 and 53 would coactto provide a yieldable strong bumper-like portion of the body. Theportion impacted by a collision could atten under the impact, causingmuch force to be absorbed in the flattening action. Such a bumperportion could transmit a great force into the roadway. A groovedhardwood board 54 may be used on the outer extremity of the bumper tore-v strain the corrugations of shell 52 from being attened locally byan object it strikes.

Another modifiication (not shown) may have a bowed plywood shell with aribbed shell 53 attached to its concave surface.

The plywood bumper-like shell and the bumper-like shell shown in FIGURES22 and 23 would be particularly suitable for bumper portions of avehicle body such as those described in my copending application Ser.No. 721,150.

FIGURE 24 shows a modification that is a safe body for a scooter and thelike. The scooter 5S has a bumperlike front portion 58 and a bumper-likerear portion 59. The bumper portions 58 and 59 would be mounted similarto the bumpers described in my copending application Ser. No. 721,150.The bumper portions 58 andv 59 may have spikes and grappling hooks likethose shown in FIG- URE 8. The front portion of the framework of thescooter 55 is shaped similar to the front portion of a womans bicycle.This strong framework can support the bumper portion 58. The bumperportion 59 may be supported by the back of the seat. The bumper portions5S and 59 are linked to the lower intermediate portion of the scooter5S. The lower portions of bumpers 58 and 59 are forked so they straddlethe wheels of the bumper. The space between bumpers 58 and 59 form anoccupants compartment that would provide considerable protection for theoperator and a passenger. The attening of the bumper 58 by a collisionimpact would cause the front of the scooter 55 to rise and thus restrainthe scooter and operator from toppling forward. The high centerofgravity of a rider on a common scooter tends to topple the scooterwhen it strikes a low obstruction. The scooter 55 may provide additionalprotection by having a vehicle occupant safety barrier 60 mounted on itsseat. The barrier 60 may be kept retracted until a hazardous conditionwarrants tripping a control to cause the barrier to spring into aprotective position. A barrier 60 may be similar to the lf barrierdescribed in my copending application Ser. No. 97,658.

While I have illustrated and described certain specific embodiments ofmy invention, it will be understood that these are by way ofillustration only, and that various changes and modifications may bemade within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a vehicle having a framework, at least one end ofsaid vehicle having a single wheel structure, a bumper positioned atsaid end, said bumper comprising a stiff, yieldable shaft meansoutwardly bowed throughout in a vertical plane, fixed pivotal bearingmeans pivotally engaging upper end portion means of said shaft means, abearing means yieldably mounted on said `framework, said yieldable shaftmeans having a forked lower portion means so as to straddle said singlewheel structure, said bumper having spike means projecting downwardlyfrom its lower extremity, said yieldable bearing means engaging saidforked lower portion means so as to permit said forked lower portionmeans to move downwardly away from said upper end portion means andstrike a roadway surface as the result of impact of an object againstouter surface means of said bumper which results in partial flatteningof said shaft means, causing said upper end portion means to rise andtend to raise the adjacent portion of said vehicle away from saidroadway surface causing lifting action, whereby a substantial portion ofsaid impact is absorbed by said striking of said roadway surface and bysaid lifting action and whereby said spike means penetrates said roadwaysurface and restrains said vehicle from moving laterally.

2. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said shaft means isarched like a bow having a substantially constant radius of curvaturethroughout.

3. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said yieldable bearingmeans includes pivotal link means having one end portion means pivotallyengaged to said framework inwardly away from said shaft means and theother end portion means pivotally engaging said forked lower portionmeans, whereby when saidV forked lower portion means is stressed by saidimpact, said link means braces said forked lower portion means.

4. The combination as recited in claim 1, together with a yieldable tiemeans having lower tie portion means engaging said forked lower portionmeans of said shaft means and upper tie portion means fixed relative tosaid framework, whereby when said shaft means is flattened by saidimpact, some of said impact is expended in causingv said yieldable tiemeans to` yield.

5. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said shaft means consistof two shafts in spaced relationship, wherein said pumper includes ahorizontal beam attached to intermediate portions of said two shafts,and wherein said outer surface means includes outer beam surfaces ofsaidbeam, whereby said impact can be made against said outer surfaces ofsaid lbeam midway between the said two shafts, and be distributed tosaid two shafts to cause them to coact.

6. The combination as recited in claim 1, wherein said shaft means aretwo shafts in spaced relationship, wherein said bumper includes aslightly iiexible panel outwardly bowed in a vertical plane extendedhorizontally, said bowed panel being positioned outwardly from said twoshafts and being fastened to said two shafts, whereby said impactagainst said outer surface means causes said panel to fiatten to anextent as it spreads said impact into said two shafts.

7. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said bumper has grapplinghook means projecting outwardly,

said grappling hook means having at least one barbedv offset projectingoutwardly, whereby said impact by said object causes said barbed offsetto engage said object and restrain vehicle so that it does not movelaterally.

8. The combination recited in claim 3, together with yieldable tie meanshaving lower tie portion means engaging said forked lower portion meansof said shaft means and an upper tie portion means xed relative to saidframework, whereby when said shaft means is attened by said impact, someof said impact is expended in causing said yieldable tie means to yield.

9. The combination recited in claim 4, wherein said yieldable tie meansincludes spring means to absorb some of said impact.

10. The combination recited in claim 4, wherein said bumper includes aslightly flexible panel outwardly bowed in a vertical plane extendedhorizontally, said bowed panel being fastened to said outer surfacemeans of said shaft means, whereby said impact against said bumpercauses said panel to flatten to an extent as it spreads said impact intosaid shaft means.

11. The combination recited in claim 10, wherein said yieldable bearingmeans includes pivotal link means having one end portion means pivotallyengaged to said frame- Work inwardly away from said shaft means and theother end portion means pivotally engaging said forked lower portionmeans, whereby said vehicle can safely absorb and divert muc-h of saidimpact and Ibe restrained from moving laterally after said impact.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 547,247 10/ 1895 Eidmann 293--71,868,836 7/1932 Lieb 188-5 2,959,251 11/1960 Landman ISO-83 3,056,46210/ 1962 Graham 180-63 BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner. PHILIP GOODMAN,Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A VEHICLE HAVING A FRAMEWORK, AT LEAST ONE END OFSAID VEHICLE HAVING A SINGLE WHEEL STRUCTURE, A BUMPER POSITIONED ATSAID END, SAID BUMPER COMPRISING A STIFF, YIELDABLE SHAFT MEANSOUTWARDLY BOWED THROUGHOUT IN A VERTICAL PLANE, FIXED PIVOTAL BEARINGMEANS PIVOTALLY ENGAGING UPPER END PORTION MEANS OF SAID SHAFT MEANS, ABEARING MEANS YIELDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAMEWORK, SAID YIELDABLE SHAFTMEANS HAVING A FORKED LOWER PORTION MEANS SO AS TO STRADDLE SAID SINGLEWHEEL STRUCTURE, SAID BUMPER HAVING SPIKE MEANS PROJECTING DOWNWARDLYFROM ITS LOWER EXTREMITY, SAID YIELDABLY BEARING MEANS ENGAGING SAIDFORKED LOWER PORTION MEANS SO AS TO PERMIT SAID FORKED LOWER PORTIONMEANS TO MOVE DOWNWARDLY AWAY FROM SAID UPPER END PORTION MEANS ANDSTRIKE A ROADWAY SURFACE AS THE RESULT OF IMPACT OF AN OBJECT AGAINSTOUTER SURFACE MEANS OF SAID BUMPER WHICH RESULTS IN PARTIAL FLATTENINGOF SAID SHAFT MEANS, CAUSING SAID UPPER END PORTION MEANS TO RISE ANDTEND TO RAISE THE ADJACENT PORTION OF SAID VEHICLE AWAY FROM SAIDROADWAY SURFACE CAUSING LIFTING ACTION, WHEREBY A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OFSAID IMPACT IS ABSORBED BY SAID STRIKING OF SAID ROADWAY SURFACE AND BYSAID LIFTING ACTION AND WHEREBY SAID SPIKE MEANS PENETRATES SAID ROADWAYSURFACE AND RESTRAINS SAID VEHICLE FROM MOVING LATERALLY.